So… Is this a good thing? Bad thing? Gut reaction says that probably not the greatest for GOG, being detached from a huge publisher like CD Projekt probably isn’t great for a niche marketplace. In their faqs it states that GOG had a strong year financially but they would of course bill it that way. The question about why the new owner did so also just sounded disingenuous.
Interested to see where this goes from here. While I love gog and am a patron, their Linux support leaves a lot to be desired. The sole fact that cloud saves are such a pain to get working has led me to switch back to steam. I hope with these changes they can maybe get some support on Linux.
I’ll be interested as well, but I don’t think that it is a bad thing so to speak. Both CD PROJEKT and Michal have high values when it comes to DRM-Free and open gaming. Gog is mostly supported by it’s backers and game revenue, I don’t think that will change. I don’t see the co-founder who created both the studio and the storefront performing a pump and dump on GoG. If anything we may end up seeing a more heavy push into DRM free areas now that it’s detached from the game studio. Additionally CD Projekt’s reason seems fully valid. It makes sense they would rather focus more on making games than distributing. Distributing games is no easy task, let alone maintaining an entire storefront that most of the corporate world dislikes due to the core principles of the storefront (I.E the push towards support and DRM-Free).
It could be bad but, I’m not going to be super concerned until actual evidence ends up on the ground for it.
The most benefit-of-the-doubt read on this that I’ve got is that, as a publicly traded company, the small margins GOG operates in might not be worth CDPR’s time when they can get higher margins for the same investment elsewhere. Adding some of my own hopium and conjecture, based on the “Why is Michał Kiciński doing this?” section of the FAQ, I hope this means a semi-near future of closing up the last few gaps in GOG’s DRM-free promise.
One of my biggest pet peeves with GOG is how it handles multiplayer. Some games add a warning when multiplayer is only available via LAN and direct IP connections. I need a warning when the opposite is true, because if it relies on GOG Galaxy or some other server, it’s just DRM by another name. To their credit, this warning is usually there, but I’ve come across a few games’ store pages that left it to the imagination, and I’d have to go to the forums link to find someone complaining about it to be sure. Other games, like Doom 2016, just omit multiplayer from the GOG version entirely, because they can’t even fathom how to make multiplayer work in a self-hosted way.
What I’d like to see (I’m a programmer, but I’m not deep in the world of gaming software engineering) is for GOG to provide a drop-in multiplayer server that can serve as a self-hosted version of GOG Galaxy’s multiplayer functionality, so that even if the developer doesn’t see it as financially viable to ensure their game’s multiplayer lives on, GOG can do that for them and make any online game LAN-able. If that’s possible. In my head, it sure seems possible.
The idea sounds like GameSpy back in the day for multiplayer games.
I feel like a lot of understanding behind the financial decisions around online games could happen if we explained to the kids what GameSpy was. Online was never “free”. Before microtransactions and Steam footing the bill, there were ads. But we had self-hosting as a backup plan back then.
It was free for the consumer, Nintendo just footed the bill.
And that likely stopped making financial sense once online multiplayer operated at larger scales. On PC, GameSpy servers came with ads. Even downloading patches for games meant going to an ad-supported third party web site.
I really want them to bring back self-hosting. Multiplayer games don’t need to have a limited lifespan.
I’d love to see legislation that if a game requires servers to play any portion of it, and those servers get taken offline, the source code must be released. Like, they’re already demonstrating that the game doesn’t hold enough value for them by shutting down the servers, so let the community take over.
I would love this as well. I think we should start with must be able to self host servers or use p2p servers though. You can have server software without it being open sourced, and I think that licensing wise it will be easier to pass a p2p requirement than a full open source requirement.
I would also prefer a self-hosted/P2P type setup as it would work better for older game where it’s a just a small group of players.
That being said, from my understanding, these days P2P is very rarely used.
Remember Mplayer aka Mplague?
GOG Galaxy only handles lobbies, matchmaking and relaying connections to the host. So even if they provide a way to self host it, if the game uses dedicated servers to host sessions it still wouldn’t work if the game devs don’t provide the server runtime binaries. Only games that can host a session on the client would work without the server runtime.
If they’re using GOG matchmaking to find dedicated servers, then those binaries are in our hands already, as far as I know. Feel free to provide a counter example if you know of one. The whole point of using the store’s infrastructure is that the developer doesn’t have to pay for it, and I’ve never heard of a store that offers hosting for bespoke dedicated servers for different games.
Matchmaking is nothing more than a user database query. That database sits on GOG’s servers and the only thing GOG does is put users into a lobby and then send that data back to the clients so the game can show it to the user. And then when the game starts GOG connects the clients to the host. So developers don’t have to setup their own lobby and relay server. That host can be another client, then the developers don’t have to pay for anything, or a dedicated server which the devs have to provide and pay for themselves. And in case a game only does multiplayer with dedicated servers then clients do not have the server binaries unless the devs provide it.
I know how it works. Do you know of a game on GOG with dedicated servers that the company is paying for that also uses GOG’s matchmaking to find those dedicated servers? Because at that point, they may as well run the matchmaking themselves and open up the possibility for cross play, and I can’t imagine what value they’d get from GOG’s services. For instance, I’m pretty sure I’m hitting GOG’s matchmaking servers for the likes of Star Wars Battlefront II, but all that’s doing is registering player-run servers that it then connects me to.
If 2025 has taught me anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
Perhaps this will turn out to be pretty good for everyone?
(maybe not)
This is an interesting development, for sure - and not one we will be able to accurately gauge the net impact of for a while.
It does feel like CD Project want to move it off their financial documents (P&L, cashflow, balance sheets etc.), while Michael wants to double-down and focus on building out the historical catalog.
Success will really depend on if GOG can remain profitable through lean years without having to ultimately rely on compromising their morals; and whether they will continue to receive support from modern publishers to help fund the more niche projects.
This is… a thing? I really can’t tell whether this is a step towards stability or volatility for GOG. I love the mission, I love having an alternative to stream, but it needs to last. It’s GOG financially viable? Good question, no one really knows.
It’s GOG financially viable? Good question, no one really knows.
All CDPR earnings reports put GOG revenue/profits in its own separate section, so it’s actually very knowable: It hasn’t been losing money in the last few years but its profits are basically negligible compared to the rest of CDPR studio’s profits.
Thanks for clarification!
That sounds kind of good, really. Of course, more profits are always better, but breaking even is awesome.
I want it away from all megacorps. The moment the non “old” games get off the platform, I’ll be inclined to give them money again.
I fail to see the problem with having modern games on there? It’s still the same DRM free platform regardless.
Plus, for a large part those older games where also made by mega corps of the day, some still around others faded away, but hardly a collection of indi devs across the board.
Stop, stop! He’s already dead!
What an unnecessarily exclusionary take.
They can build a new platform to sell current games in a DRM-free situation. Good Old Games should stick specifically to old games.
Meh
Why, given “Good Old Games” is no longer the name of the store?
and what purpose would that serve lol
dividing resources and confusing people just for what? so you can feel good having a store with the 3 retro pc games that haven’t been gobbled up by microsoft, ea or atari?
if you only want to see retro games, do i have the button for you!
So your issue is drm free games that are… still currently popular? Oh, the horror. We must shield this child from the passage of time, for they believe ‘things were better when’ and ‘I already took my pills!’
The name of the site is Good Old Games. I have no problem with a separate marketplace for Non-DRM current games. I don’t see a reason to give a large company money - especially in a world where eXoDOS and eXoWin9x exist.
Did you know that the Ronald McDonald House isn’t just one single house?
How do you feel about that?
Good, they can help more people.
But it’s House. Not Houses.
Is this crime forgivable to von majesty of language?
So where are you getting your current (let’s say released in the last decade, just to be generous), legal, AA/AAA, drm-free games from?
The answer ‘nowhere’ means that you have no viable argument.
I have no interest in A/AA/AAA games in the last decade or so. I also truly don’t give a single crap about “legal”. Copywrong should be fought and all information should be made free at all times. I mean, technically I play games that are current, like Luanti, OpenTTD, Battle for Wesnoth, Mindustry, and Endless Sky. So I’m not in the same sphere.
Hell, as I said above, in a world where eXo exists, GOG needs to do a lot more to justify financial investment.
So because you play webgames the entire company doesn’t matter?
How are any of those webgames? They’re just FOSS.
And, so? Do you feel better
They removed the explicit Good Old Games abbreviation back in 2012. It’s just GOG.com now.
Good thing to get away from CD Projekt, to be honest. I hope GOG thrives more in the future!
The guy is also a cofounder of CD Projekt. Is getting closer, not father
The guy isnt a publicly traded business though.
Maybe you aren’t, Cap’n
Why is this happening if nothing at all is changing and everything is sunshine and butterflies.
Last year I played 56 Polish games on Steam.
This year I switched to Linux and to playing on GoG (a Polish company) exclusively.
Now this acquisition, still by a Pole, happens and it only sounds good to me.
One more round of Zubrowka for everyone!
Least nationalist European /s
best I can do is Dęmbowe mochne
This year I switched to Linux and to playing on GoG (a Polish company) exclusively.
I would do the same, but GoG support for Linux is so bad :(
yeah, just use Heroic. we don’t actually need GoG to give us a client.
I use Heroic Games Launcher and have no reason to complain.
But no achievements and no cloud saves…
Cloud saves are experimental on Heroic but in my experience they mostly work.
Achievements are something I never gave a shit about, but I think they should be working with the same upload.
Poland is so cool. They have such a burgeoning games industry.
Why are they so good at it, whereas the bigger and economically stronger Germany not as good?
I am mostly attracted by their art direction in sci-fi and lovecraftian titles.
Having names such as Beksinski and Lem in their culture I feel plays a huge role.
Also, look at Polish movie posters. They had real pop avant-garde as late as the 1980s.
The majority of Polish kids in my old school are unbelievably good with computers. My friend’s dad is also a self-taught electronic and IT specialist.
Now, I am really curious as to why so many Poles are tech wiz. I know GOG’s DRM-free philosophy is influenced by communism, but I can’t see how communism influenced many Poles to be good with IT as well.
A weak theory, but Poland being one of a handful of countries with a reasonable claim to “inventing” the computer probably helps, mostly indirectly. When deciding to invest in tech education things like that can make a big difference by stoking some national pride. The UK has absolutely benefited from Turing’s legacy keeping us involved in tech (despite everything).
GoG was the first game platform to release a fully functional, clean, and well rounded experience, enough to get me to send them an unprompted, positive feedback to their devs. I really digged their user-centric approach and feature set. I am hopefully optimistic that their services remain at or better than current. However, it is 2025 (almost 2026) so I’m expecting another shoe to fall, even if all parties have a history of being solid players.
This seems like a possibly good move to help make GOG concentrate on being even more G. Hard to see any likely downsides. Seems like a natural step in the maturity of both GOG and CDPR. Hopefully other investors see this the same way.
Good Old Grandma? RIP. She’ll never sell out.
What it means for you
What does it mean for Red Candle Games?
So the co-founder of GOG and a co-founder of CDPR saw how GOG was being treated, and acquired it to make it better in theory. I’d love to see how this will go.
As for Linux, I wonder if he already knows about the Linux market. If he does, that’s great, as this is an opportunity for us Linux users.
Well, I guess at the very least it’s making a good argument for their patron donation thing.
so if i’m reading right, prior to transaction CDPR owned shares of GOG. MK owned shares of CDPR. post to transaction, MK will own shares of CDPR and GOG. My question for GOG, CDPR and MK as i know y’all are on this thread: I want to know the nitty gritty financial and structural details of the transaction if you are comfortable sharing please i am a wonk for that sort of thing
Nobody from CDPR is on this thread, lol. This isn’t Reddit.
My question for GOG, CDPR and MK as i know y’all are on this thread:
How does repeating yourself do anything to change facts?
None of the above are on or anywhere near this thread.
its you Johnny Good Old Games don’t lie
